ABSTRACT
Tropical systems Dennis and Floyd impacted eastern North Carolina in 1999, the
fourth and fifth storms in three years to make landfall in this area. All five
storms were very similar in strength (wind speed); however, the effects on the
coast were quite different. In addition to absolute storm strength, morphological
changes to the natural environment were controlled by the forward speed of the
storms, orientation of the shoreline relative to storm track, underlying geology,
impacts of recent storms, and associated rainfall. Damage to buildings was a function
of the placement of structures with respect to the shoreline and the removal of
weaker buildings by previous storms. On the basis of these observations, we recommend
a new Hurricane Impact Scale, which will allow prediction of possible storm impacts
and comparisons of coastal impacts in other hurricanes. Each additional hurricane
demonstrates that our society does not have a forward-looking plan for dealing
with coastal storms. Instead, we typically repair and rebuild in place, and continue
the upward spiral of property damage in storms. Although the dollar amount of
property damage will be low from these storms, the public must bear the cost of
cleanup and repair of infrastructure.